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While gadget-lovers enjoy filling their pockets with a slew of electronics before they go out, the real pleasure is finding one elegant convergence device that replaces them all. Sprint's PPC-6601 is one of the first smartphones to run on Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition (SE), so it gives you all the benefits of that operating system as well as a phone and a thumb keyboard.

In practice, the 6601 is more of a PDA than a phone. It's a bit bulky for a cell phone, and you'll likely feel odd holding one so big up to your ear. For a PDA, it's a standard size. We got good reception on it in the New York City area, although it did occasionally go into roaming mode.

This phone is only branded by Sprint, so you might see the 6601 (or reviews of it) under different names. It's sibling, the Sprint PPC-6600 was also just released. It's similar, but has a digital camera built in (which the 6601, sadly, does not).

(Based on Taiwanese OEM High Tech Computer's BlueAngel/XDA III Design, the Windows Mobile 2003 SE for Pocket PC Phone is known around the world by a variety of different names—T-Mobile MDA III, Vodafone VPA III, O2 XDA III, Cingular Wireless Siemens SX66 Pocket PC Phone, Audiovox XV6600—with slight variations in features.)

The 6601 measures 4.9 x 2.75 x 0.74 inches and weighs 7.35 ounces. It's heavy, so you'll know the 6601 is in your pocket. The sturdy machine and it feels like it can take a bit of jostling without any problems.

A variety of buttons along the front and left side offer convenient access to the most used applications. Buttons along the left side call up the voice recorder, volume controls, and media player. We love any phone that has quick access to volume controls, an obvious feature that's often left out.

Side View

Two buttons on top of the screen call up the Calendar and Contacts apps. Below the screen, four buttons call up the Start Menu, open Messaging and Internet Explorer, and close windows or applications.

It's handy to have a dedicated "OK" button that's just for closing applications. Finally, two buttons below that row let you start or end a call. On the top, you'll find a slot for MMC/SD cards or SDIO accessories.

The screen is only QVGA (3.5-inch diagonally, with 65K colors), but it's vibrant and colorful. Since the 6601 uses the Windows Mobile 2003 SE operating system, you can rotate the screen for landscape mode. The 6601 also includes an embedded GPS chip, so that 911 operators can track you in an emergency.

Keyboard
The 6601 has one other nice trick and that's the retractable thumb keyboard, which you access by sliding the screen upward. Besides taking notes, you can also use it for SMS text messaging.


Keyboard Out

The keys are flat with almost no key travel (they don't move down when you press them), so the keyboard feels awkward to use. It doesn't have a dedicated key for the @ sign, although the makers saw fit to include a dedicated key for reaching the Sprint website. How often will anyone use that?


Rear View

Phone
When you're using the 6601 as a phone, you can choose to dial either with the on-screen keys or with the thumb keyboard. The phone has a good quality speakerphone and it comes with a set of earbuds.


Earbuds

Buttons on the phone screen let you speed dial or see your call history. We chose to use the earbuds as often as we could, since it is so large for a phone.

The Sprint 6601 is often judged against the palmOne Treo 650 (we will publish a review of the Treo 650 soon) and the T-Mobile Sidekick II (also known as the Danger hiptop2), two other recently released high-profile smartphones. It doesn't shine in comparison.

The whole comparison might not be fair, admittedly, since each is going after a different market (the Treo is for those who love the Palm OS, while the Sidekick II is meant for young people who want to stay in touch with friends), but it shows why the other two are more successful products.

Both the Treo and the Sidekick are simply fun to use. They have clever designs—the Sidekick with its flip screen and the Treo with its rounded, compact exterior—that make you want to use them and show them off.

Using them is a pleasure. Using the 6601, though, is a bore and a chore. It's hard to slide the screen up and the thumb keyboard is a difficult to use. The design is industrial; it's something you use because it does the job, not because you want to.

Not to be too hard on the 6601, though. It has plenty to offer, even if elegance isn't in the mix.

Internal Specs
It has a 400-MHz Intel processor, which isn't the fastest one you'll find (currently, that's 624-MHz, as in the Dell Axim X50v, but it's plenty good for most applications. It also has 128MB RAM and 64MB of storage.

The phone is a dual-band (1900MHz and 800MHz) CDMA model, and it offers 3.6 hours of talk time or up to six days of standby. In our testing, we were impressed with how long it could go between chargings.

The 6601 has Bluetooth built in, but doesn't have Wi-Fi—its biggest omission—like some of the other BlueAngel/XDA III Pocket PC Phones. Although using the Sprint network is fast, being able to tap into a Wi-Fi network is cheaper and easier.

Bundle
The software assortment is the same that you'll find on any Windows Mobile device, with the addition of Sprint's PCS Vision applications, which offer messaging tools for business users. You'll also get trials from Audible.com and Handmark, for downloading audio books and software. The e-mail client supports Microsoft Outlook and works with POP3 and IMAP4 clients, naturally.

The 6601 comes with a large desktop charger that has a slot for a second battery (sold separately). You also get a sturdy fabric case with a belt clip and a magnetic closure.


Desktop Charger

Its case holds the device horizontally, so it's more comfortable for the user. The price tag for all this is $629, which is reasonable for a smartphone.

While it's not the slickest smartphone on the market, the Sprint PPC-6601 is a good choice for office workers who need a powerful Windows Mobile PDA and only occasionally need to make calls.